The solo violin has long been acknowledged as the perfect instrument to express emotions like love, longing, heartbreak, rapture, and romance. The Romantic era lasted from the early nineteenth century to the early twentieth century and produced numerous works that
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Preview of Dartington International Summer School 2020 October 10th, 2019 Incoming Artistic Director sees Dartington International Summer School as a “laboratory” for musicians and composers to experiment and explore Since its foundation in 1947, Dartington International Summer School (DISS) has been a place where musicians, professional and amateur, come together -
Joaquin Rodrigo October 9th, 2019 “In Heaven We Will All Be Sounds” The Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-1999) might not be a household name, but he undoubtedly wrote the most successful concerto for any instrument in the 20th century. Conceirto de Aranjuez, originally written for -
Leonardo Vinci: Death by Hot Chocolate October 8th, 2019 Not to be confused with Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo Vinci (1690-1730) was an influential Italian composer, best known for his operas. In fact, his music had a direct influence on a number of composers of the next generation, most notably -
Jessye Norman (1945-2019)
“I Am Grateful That My Horizons Were Not Narrowed at the Outset” October 7th, 2019There can be no doubt that Jessye Norman (1945-2019) had one of the world’s most beautiful and powerful voices. Described as a “grand mansion of sound…that opens onto unexpected vistas,” Norman was a phenomenon that possessed a glorious rich middle -
Musicians and Artists: Morton Feldman and Mark Rothko October 6th, 2019 In the middle of Houston, Texas, lies a point of solitude. Given the title of a chapel, it’s a place for spiritual matters, but at the same time, it’s a gathering place for world leaders seeking solutions that will culminate -
Pietà by Richard Blackford
A Stabat Mater for Our Troubled Times October 6th, 2019The Stabat Mater, a Medieval hymn which portrays Mary’s suffering as Christ’s mother during his Crucifixion, has been set to music by numerous composers, most notably Pergolesi, Schubert, Dvořák, Arvo Pärt and James Macmillan. In Pietà, a new setting by -
Paul Badura-Skoda (1927-2019)
“Mozart Writes the Most Perfect, the Most Beautiful Music” October 5th, 2019When I was a young and aspiring piano student I once asked my teacher if she would teach me a Mozart sonata. “No,” she said brusquely, “Mozart is too easy.” Even then, this struck me as somewhat odd, because when -
Art and Life Are Not Two Separate Things October 4th, 2019 The statement in the title of this article was made by Felix Mendelssohn. In his short life of just 38 years, Mendelssohn left his mark on the art world with compositions that are still highly popular today. His music was